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Hazel Heart Interview| Author | Post |
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| Speelie Senior Member Fort Collins, CO 1191 Posts 5/01 |  Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 2:50AMI'm sorry if I missed earlier threads about this, but if there are some, they seem to be WAY back. I have some DVD's that are 5-7 years old, and no longer play in my computer or Sony DVD player. They don't seem to obviously have "disc rot," since there's no cloudiness such as I have read about, but that could be the problem if I'm simply not recognizing the signs. The computerized data seems to be corrupted. I've tried "exploring" these DVDs on my computer, and copying the raw data onto my harddrive, in order to reburn some elements onto blank DVDs. I notice that not all of the information will copy, certain sections are corrupt (in a few cases, I can watch sections of a DVD on my computer and DVD player, and in those instances, it is apparent that the scenes that won't play are the same ones that won't copy). I can, so far, copy over at least some sections of all of the DVDs that are damaged, and then play those sections as mpg-type video clips. So the DVDs are not complete losses, but is there any way to restore them to full capability? Or are they permanently damaged? And what causes this sort of trouble? I've stored them in standard plastic DVD cases, with the cased DVDs in boxes that hold 50 or so DVD cases side by side. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated, thanks in advance! [Link] |
| MikeSouth Deactivated User 511 Posts 11/02 | Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 12:49PM try isobuster [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 12:55PM One thing - Since DVDs are a "sandwich" try not to bend them when you're handling them. Most DVDs come in a case with a spindle that allows you to easily get them out without bending them if you depress the center. Any bending at all could cause small cracks for the air to get in. [Link] |
| MikeSouth Deactivated User 511 Posts 11/02 | Posted - Feb 21 2008 : 7:59PM if your problem is as simple as a disk with fingerprints or smudges....spit on the disk and wipe it off in circular motions with a clean soft cloth...that has restored many a disk for me [Link] |
| Robert Member My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06 | Posted - Feb 22 2008 : 12:15PM I've had to 'repair' many a damaged disk over the past few years and here are some of the things I've discovered. 1. NEVER RUB HARDER in an attempt to remove debris from the surface of the disk. (See 3.) 2. Always try to wipe from the center of the disk to the outside edge., not in a circular motion, except for the final soft rub polish. 3. The best solvent I have found is alcohol. It seems to dissolve most debris. 4. If careful cleaning of the disk fails to remedy the problem, then it's time to try polishing. 5. Some use car polish. I prefer spray on furniture polish (Pledge). Use the same as if you were polishing the surface of a car or piece of furniture. Caution: Since these polishes contain abrasives, you must rub VERY GENTLY. This is a polish step, not a remove debris step so rub gently with a soft cloth. 6. If all these actions fail to 'restore' the disk so it can be read, then take it to a DVD store that offers disk polishing. They have a precision machine that removes a microscopic layer from the surface of the disk and then polishes the surface. They charge about $3. [Link] |
| MikeSouth Deactivated User 511 Posts 11/02 | Posted - Feb 23 2008 : 7:57PM first spit is mildly acidic...perfect for removing fingerprints which are the most common cause of problems second its non abrasive, it even lubricates so no it wont take out scratches but it will clean your disk without destroying it. [Link] |
| Robert Member My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06 | Posted - Feb 24 2008 : 9:33AM First, the reason I said that "spitting and wiping a DVD may cause more problems than it solves" is that I think there is a natural tendency to rub the spot with your finger after spitting on it, rather than carefully wiping it with a soft cloth. It's the finger, not the spit, that causes the problems. Although fingerprints are very common on DVDs, I think it's been a while since their presence caused problems. They mess up the reading of a musical CD on my old CD plaayer (+15 years), but it's been a long time since that was a problem on most DVD players. I have a number of DVD players that I use on a regular basis and I can't remember when fingerprints on a DVD surface caused reading problems. The corection circuits in the player handle them easily. That's an assumption (I'm not really familiar with the error correction routines used by the DVD players). In fact, just to verify that such is the case, I purposely pressed a thumb print onto a DVD surface (covering about 2/3s of the area from center to edge) and played it on three of my DVD players. No problems. I see a lot of rental and exchange DVDs that have been badly handled. Often the gunk on the surface (that disrupts reading/playing) is immune to plain water (or spit) or even soap and water. So, I've just become accustomed to skipping those cleaning methods and go directly to alcohol. I pour a generous amount on the surface of the DVD and let it sit for a minute or so to dissolve the gunk (whatever it is). Then, with a soft cloth, I wipe off the acohol. I don't rub it off, I wipe it off. When alcohol cleaning doesn't 'fix' the problem then it's time to address the many scratches that seem to be on every DVD I see. Most don't effect play (those correction circuits at work), but some can cause real reading problems. That's when I use furniture polish. Polish does leave a residue, which is intended. That wax residue fills the scratches and permits the laser beam to 'see thru' to the dye surface and pick up the encoding. It takes 10 minutes or more to polish a DVD. I use a paper towel for the first wipe, which removes most of the excess polish. Then it's careful (very, very lightly) wiping with a soft cloth. When you finish, the DVD really shines. If the damage is severe, furniture polish won't work and it's time for re-surfacing. The soft cloth I've found to be best is the one I get from the eye doctor. He gives them away (advertising). BTW, the cleaning solution they give away is better than spit, but not as good as alcohol. Ask the lab tech at the eye dotor what they use. I'll bet it's alcohol. Anyway, that's my story and I've had good results. In the past year, I've only had to return one DVD for replacement because of damage beyond recovery. I'm only guessing, but I think that's one in about 200. And probably 25 of those 200 needed 'cleaning' of some kind. ~Robert [Link] |
| blowfish Member 874 Posts 1/08 | Posted - Feb 24 2008 : 11:07AM [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Feb 25 2008 : 4:26AM I also wouldn't use alcohol on a DVD. Since alcohol will cloud plastic over time. [Link] |
| Robert Member My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06 | Posted - Feb 25 2008 : 11:32AM Their kits include a cleaning agent, which is basically Isopropyl Alcohol. Each to their own, but I believe Isopropyl Alcohol will not harm the plastic surface of a DVD or cause it to cloud over time. BTW, I also believe that clouding of the DVD surface is almost entirely due to poor manufacturing of the DVD (all too common with XXX DVDs). It matters little how the DVD is handled. Over time (a short time) it will cloud. It is true that this situation can be aggravated by 'bending' the DVD, but (IMHO) well made DVDs will stand-up to most bending. My postal carrier bent a DVD once to fit it into the mailbox. He bent it until it broke in two. The surface never clouded. :) One might note that it is almost impossible to remove a DVD from a standard case without bending it slightly (and sometimes bending the hell out of it). :) Ever onward. [Link] |
| Speelie Senior Member Fort Collins, CO 1191 Posts 5/01 | Posted - Feb 28 2008 : 3:13AM [Link] |
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